Chapter 7

The place was a smoldering ruin when Dean pulled the Impala up and both Winchesters couldn't help but gape at it. Local police were there along with the fire department going over the scene. Dean couldn't help but say, "Man, I thought it was something…"

"Not like this," Sam finished.

Actually it was one building that was a smoldering ruin; the rest of the cabins were untouched. The authorities said it was a fire, probably arson, but the nature of it baffled them. It was something probably right up their alley and they could use their FBI aliases to find out. The nice thing was that it was a real shield that they had courtesy of Angela and she did teach them how to make better fakes as well as who to go to for good fakes where the proprietors don't rat you out… mostly because she threatened them on some level.

It was Bobby who received the call and took in the details since he knew an old lady in that area who kept an eye on things since it was discovered that there were a few things in that region that existed simply because they wanted to live in peace. It was an arrangement made between him and the old broad since the attraction of hunters that were not too accommodating was a high possibility.

It was an awkward conversation when Bobby turned and asked Sam, "Is where Angie went some place called the Night Owl Motel?"

It was enough to trigger a reaction but Sam had been calm about it in a nervous sort of way. It was unnerving to both Dean and Bobby but then again if they thought about it, Angela would have been long gone. In the end Bobby managed to get out that there was a fire with suspicious circumstances at that place. Having been in the business long enough, they knew that it wasn't coincidence that a fire and a dead body popped up in the place that Angela was last at.

The first reaction was that maybe what happened with Dean when he was taken to the angels' "green room" occurred only it was different for Angela. It was a possibility since they had tried calling her again. At that point they were willing to believe that something wasn't right and the time to act was upon them and they took action and headed out to the place to find out if something was wrong.

Sam and Dean managed to get through the tape and take a look. Dean figured it was up their alley. To Sam, it was almost like déjà vu in terms of when his girlfriend Jessica died. He had a brief moment of panic that the same thing might have happened to Angela and it had driven Dean crazy n the trip there since he kept making nervous ticks first beating a tattoo on the door of the Impala and then playing with her chakram. Once there, he relaxed a little but was still anxious until it was revealed that the body inside was male. Lilah was also a big help and convincing enough that she passed for a K9 unit partnered with them and she let him and Dean know in her dog way that it wasn't Angela.

It still wasn't enough and it had Sam more worried. She wasn't dead and he had that feeling when they arrived that she wasn't but he couldn't shake the fact that she might be in some trouble… and trouble that she might have a problem getting out of. He wanted her to have something good in her life and there wasn't anything going on but it seemed that fate was against them every damn time. He stalked off on his own to inspect the area and look for possible clues that would point him to Angela's whereabouts.

The cabins were the best bet but he really didn't have any cause for banging on doors and there weren't that many guests in the first place. Besides they had been evacuated when the main office caught on fire. So the best bet was to trust in Lilah. They hadn't had her very long but Sam was willing to trust her since she proved that she was looking after Angela by the way she charged at the bastard that kidnapped her. Looking at the dog he said, "I'm letting you off the leash so… go do your thing. Look for Angie."

Lilah was not as expressive as Cerebus but she gave a slight bark of understanding and waited while Sam unclipped her from the leash. She had picked up the alpha's scent when they arrived and it was faint but she knew that the alpha's alpha and his littermate were concerned and wanted to find any trace. As soon as she was free, she turned and started sniffing out the alpha. She didn't need anything with her scent on it since it was lingering on Sam.

Sam followed the dog while trying to make sure that they weren't noticed by nosy onlookers or anyone that might question his motives. Dean would handle anything with the cops for now. Right now his focus was to find anything that would give an idea about where Angela was. Please just let this be a coincidence.

There was no such thing as coincidences though and it was proven when Sam stopped when Lilah paused. He noticed that she had stopped near a cabin but appeared lost. In fact it seemed that she was trying to think and he thought that maybe she lost the scent and that produced worst case scenarios in his mind in a rapid succession ranging that she took off and had an accident to the most horrible idea that she was attacked in her room and then taken and possibly violated. The latter had him grip Lilah's leash so tight that his nails left indents in the leather and in his palm, which he ignored while he looked around for any sign.

A noise caught his attention as well as Lilah's. She flattened her ears and growled low and it was enough for Sam to pull out his gun and hold it, ready to fire. He came to the corner leading to the back of the cabin and paused. He held Lilah by her collar even though he knew that she just had to lunge forward and he would be flat on his face. She was a Wilder with Irish wolfhound in her after all and she was as tall as he was when she stood on her hind legs. Still it was more like a signal that he didn't want her to move unless he gave the word and for the most part she seemed to go with it.

Taking a breath, Sam readied himself to fire. He rounded the corner with his gun drawn. He came face to face with someone familiar though it had him jump since the look was not one that he had seen before and he almost shot him. Rolling his eyes he put the safety on saying, "Didn't Dean tell you something about sneaking around Kess?"

"That and personal space though there is hardly a difference."

That really wasn't the point but Sam wasn't going to argue. He took a moment to look at the young guard. The agitation was to be expected but it seemed to Sam that Kesset looked different than what he usually looked like. There was almost a darkened edge to the young guard. The most obvious were the feathers on the wing. They had always been a dark brown but this time they looked darker and it wasn't because of the shadow. It tripped Sam's suspicions since he hadn't seen Kesset get pissed or terse about anything unless it was a direct threat to Angela. "Fine. What happened?"

Kesset looked at Sam, unaware that his reddish brown eyes had taken an almost glowing hue. It was a product of the rage he was still feeling after learning what he did and doing what he did. He replied, "The princess is missing."

Sam wasn't going to discount that considering the way that Kesset was behaving. "You sure?"

Kesset looked around, his eyes glittering while he scanned for any threats. "The assessment from the celestial should have been clear."

"And we told you our reasons behind that," Sam countered thought he was starting to believe that there was more going on than meets the eye.

Kesset ruffled his feathers slightly and made a slight sound. He looked at Sam, "Her vehicle was here, Sam. She wasn't."

Sam locked his eyes on Kesset's. There was no hint of deception in the young guard's eyes. It was like her kidnapping was happening all over again and he had to force back the worst case scenarios that were starting to pop up. He felt his breath hitch and he looked away and rubbed his hand through his locks before turning back to Kesset. "Any idea who?"

Before Kesset could answer, Sam's phone beeped. Sam pulled it out and looked at it. The phone indicated that it was a text message from Angela. He glanced at the young guard who was watching with intense interest as he opened the text. He took a breath as the image came up.

It was a picture of Angela and she was tied up and unconscious. She looked okay to Sam's view but she was tied up and her eyes weren't open. Sam knew that she wouldn't have gone down without a fight. The only way that whoever it was would get the drop on her is if they drugged her. Sam felt his throat convulse as he scrolled down the message. His hand tightened on the phone.

Lost something, Abomination?

Sam looked at the image and the text. He felt his chest constrict first more in shock and then in anger. His eyes narrowed in anger as his hand clenched the phone. He could only stare at the picture of Angela tied up.

"They are renegades," Kesset said in an uncharacteristic quiet tone.

As soon as Sam heard Kesset, he began having vague memories. They were somewhat distorted but he vaguely remembered hearing about them. They were once hunters… at least from what he had overheard. He remembered that he had been poisoned at the time. They had been trying to kill him then. "They tried to kill me."

Kesset peered at Sam. He had noted the reaction and was well aware that the younger Winchester was harboring anger that would give way to rage. The revelation though puzzled him. "What?"

Sam looked up to see Kesset looking puzzled. It was easy to forget that the guard had lived most of his life in a sanctuary and from his understanding they were fairly isolated from their world. He repeated, "They tried to kill me."

"Why?"

"Because…"How was Sam going to explain? Would Kesset even understand? Sam shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Most people who know the truth want to kill me now. I… I started the Apocalypse."

Kesset took in Sam's revelation. He knew the state of affairs was not the best of times. To hear someone claim responsibility… it had him thoughtful but he wasn't going to resent Sam for it. The way he saw it, his charge, the princess chose him and more than likely she already knew the truth and it didn't matter to her. Besides he could see that Sam was a good man. Whatever happened… "They have her to get to you," he said more in a matter of fact tone.

"The text was addressed to me, Kess," Sam replied after calming down enough. He handed the phone to the guard so he could look.

Kesset took in the picture and the message and he ruffled his feathers. They were already agitated beyond measure and now it seemed to go further. He looked at Sam and said, "This is not you fault but mine. I was not diligent enough." He started to turn after handing the phone back to Sam.

Sam frowned at that. "Where are you going?"

"Hunting these fiends."

"How? Do you even know what happened here? Is it related?" In Sam's mind, those were legitimate questions. Was this even a part of what happened to Angela? Or was it merely a coincidence? If it was related, there was no way that he was going to be left behind on this. It was logical but at the same time his gut was telling him that this was no coincidence and that the guard before him had gotten into something that was more than likely going to make things happen that weren't exactly going to be pleasant… and that was putting it mildly.

Kesset looked at Sam and saw the mixture of emotions. It angered him greatly that things were being manipulated like this. He had forgiven Gabriel for his manipulation but now he could see the reasons and best intentions regarding it. He could see the depth of the affection Sam and Angela had for each other which was why he chose to remain silent unless necessary. He sensed that it was at a fragile point and deep down he feared that this could make or break things. "I was here with Castiel. We spoke to the manager… well what passed for the manager."

"You or Cas did that?"

Technically it was Gabriel's doing but Kesset had a part in it. Mostly the part about extracting blood and information was his forte. Castiel they kept out of it or rather he scoured the building. It was wear and tear on his condition, one that Kesset was fully aware of, but it helped. Kesset didn't reveal details and merely said, "We both had a hand in it." At Sam's look he added, "The answers were unsatisfactory; the fiend said that it was all part of the game to kill the abomination."

Sam listened to Kesset's response. This was his doing. They took her because of him. "This is because of me."

"It was only a bonus. They hate her."

Sam turned to look at Kesset. He merely stared at the guard as he processed what he heard. Finally he said, "Then we're gonna find her."

Dean looked around the perimeter of the remains of the building. The place had been incinerated and by something really hot. There was nothing really left of the building but the guy was one crispy critter and barely recognizable. In all his years of hunting, he had never seen anything like it but he was astute enough to determine that it was something of the supernatural. The fact that it was at the place where his girl had her girl time with Jo and Gus… could be a coincidence.

The first thing he looked for was Deanna. He knew that Angela had driven her car out and if something did happen to her, the car would be left behind. Knowing her, she would have left a sign or something like that. If she was taken against her will, she would have left a sign for them. The trick was to find it but unfortunately the lead about the cabin she had been in was pretty much obliterated and Dean highly doubted the place had an electric record with a backup. The obvious solution was to have Sam get Lilah to sniff out their girl.

Dean finished asking his questions of the fire inspector and the police and took a step away. It was a little too close to home in terms of fire. He remembered the night his mom died and the night he had to rescue his brother at Stanford. It was not something he'd like repeating with his girl. Immediately he banished the thought since for one Azazel was dead by his hand and second, he was going to find her. Scratch that because both he and Sam were going to find her.

He started walking towards his car and looked around for his brother. He frowned when he didn't spot Sam. His brother was into being anonymous when it came to blending in and he was scarily good at it. He wasn't even going to think about Angela's ability to be sneaky. She did that creepy through the shadows thing and she could get the drop on both of them and she could change it up any time. Sam though always seemed to get a kick out of that. Sighing, Dean continued to look for any sign of his brother and the dog.

Dammit Sam. Where did you go?

Dean wandered between the cabins and tried to look like he was looking for something. He was getting a few weird stares since the fire did not affect the cabins. In his world, that meant that something was up so he was going to go with it. It also allowed him to keep an eye out for his wayward little brother who was going to get an ass kicking later.

He finally found Sam standing near a clump of trees behind the furthest cabin and Lilah was sitting beside him. He walked up to his brother with a look of annoyance planted firmly on his face, "Sam, what the hell?"

"On the case," Sam replied, "With Kess."

Dean turned to see Kesset where he had more or less had been hiding in the trees and blinked, "Kess? New look?"

"A result of ash," Kesset answered as he looked around and in the general direction of the burnt building.

Dean took it for one of Kesset's strange comments and turned to his brother, "Sam, we got a case."

"Kess did it." Sam didn't waste any words and it was effective in getting his brother's attention. "Dean, the body was a renegade. They have her; they have Angie."

It was about thirty minutes later that they were back in the cheap motel that they found and it took another ten minutes for Kesset to explain that he had been looking for Angela with Castiel and that she had been indeed taken. He held out the hex back for the Winchesters inspection, "They used this to prevent interference from us."

"And how would these bastards know about hex bags?" Dean held the offending object up. "Thought these guys didn't deal with the supernatural; that it was all bad."

"That is generally true," Kesset replied. "But they are hypocrites and a disgrace to their original calling." He spat the last few words out and ruffled his feathers and turned to look away and crossed his arms over his chest. "When we found it, it was logical to assume that one or more were not that far away. So we investigated."

Dean listened to Kesset's explanation aware that Sam was being way too calm again like when she went missing for a week. It was different though. He couldn't see the anxiety like he did before and it bothered him a little. He focused though on what the guard was reporting and noticed that Kesset seemed to have changed at least in terms of his clothes initially. He then noticed that his wings looked darker, a darker brown than usual; like someone placed a shadow over him. "And you found out that the manager was one of them."

"The manager was already dead. The fiend was impersonating him," Kesset replied back with little emotion as he continued to stare.

Dean stared at the guard. This was a very different version of Kesset than he knew. He was used to Kesset being a lot like Castiel with the cluelessness at times and a sort of innocence. This was something different and it was familiar to him and not in the good way. He suspected that it had something to do with the change in appearance and with whatever the hell happened that led to the crispy critter.

"Did you find anything?"

Dean glanced at Sam who was looking at Kesset with that quiet look of his. Kesset looked at his brother and then at Dean before saying, "It is retaliation… against her. They are renegades."

Dean didn't need a full explanation about the who and what. He knew about these guys since he spent a sleepless night protecting his brother from them after they tried to kill him by poisoning him. He still wanted to get the bitch that actually did the deed.

Hunters… more specifically demon slayers.

Nodding Dean started pacing more as the implications of what was being said hit him, "Demon slayers."

"More like the disgrace of hunters," Kesset spat as he started to pace in an agitated state. "They forget that what they use to hunt with…" He started mumbling something in the language of Karnak.

"Tell me about it," Dean replied even though he didn't understand what the hell the guard was saying. He still thought it was more akin to swearing.

"But they know Angie?" Sam looked at his brother for details, regretting that he never really asked about what happened. They did fill him in but some details they left out, particularly her. Normally he would have pressed but at the time he didn't and more for the sake of getting and keeping them together.

"Yeah, Sam."

They believe that anything that has been so much as touched by a demon that they should be exterminated.

Dean wasn't sure what to say about the whole thing. He knew she would say that it was a mistake that she made and now had to fix. "They really don't like her for being her and that she has a liking for things that are like her… the half human, half whatever."

Sam appeared thoughtful for a moment to Dean. He wasn't sure if he liked it since Sam had been nothing but quiet. Dean was certain that his little brother was up to something. He thought that it had gone away once things were relatively normal but… Sam then asked, "Did you and she kill them all?"

"The slayers? Yeah… at least I thought so."

Kesset ruffled his feathers, "The renegades are not just these slayers." He looked at the pair of brothers. Apparently they didn't know or she didn't think they needed to know or said only enough. He explained, "The renegades are hunters of the seventh clan."

"Hunter clans?"

"There are hunter lineages," Kesset stressed looking more impatient to Dean. "Seven lines. Six stayed true and one betrayed."

Dean gave a slight shrug at that, "So the story goes." He looked at Sam who wasn't looking amused at all. "Well it is."

Kesset made a slight sound. "The slayers joined them. That's why they are not just hunters but slayers and they are both disgraces." The contempt was clear in his voice.

Dean thought Kesset was going to start smiting things in the room since the guard was getting so agitated. He gestured in a calming fashion, "Alright, alright. I get it Kess. Thing is I though me and Angie took care of them."

"Apparently not," Sam said. "There's at least one."

"That was what the fiend said," Kesset confirmed. "There is always one that will survive." He took a couple of breaths more to calm himself down. "This is a plot of revenge but it seems that they also want to settle a score with you and Sam." At the look Dean was giving him, he looked the elder Winchester in the eye and continued, "You are the only ones to successfully thwart their goal which is to kill Sam. They still want to do it and the current situation is merely a convenient excuse."

"Figures," Sam deadpanned.

Dean surveyed the situation. It was dire and there was no changing that. He was well aware that these guys would do what they set out to do. This time they had his girl and they were coming after him and Sam. It was pretty much the same story; they were using her to get to him and his brother. She was a convenient target that would be disposed of. The thought crossed his mind and he looked at Kesset, "Is she…?"

"No. Even though she cut us off, there are some things that can't be. For all intents and purposes, I can tell you if she is dead or alive but I can't find her. That hex bag had an effect and I suspect that these fiends know what they are doing."

"Then we have to find them," Sam said quietly.

Dean knew that was the obvious. "Right. I'll call Bobby and see if he can work up something that could work. Kess… you wanna go pound pavement?"

"Already did. It left a sizeable crater."

"Not that," Dean replied with a look. He was relieved when the guard nodded understanding and left. He turned to Sam and said, "Sam…"

"I know. Research."

A/N: Looks like Sam and Dean are on the case but about a strange fire. Kess shows up and he's not looking happy. Keep watching for more To Hell and Back...